Uganda #14: The Lumbe

Today is the day for the formal lumbe, the last funeral rites ceremony for my grandmother held in the the rural village in Masaka. 800-1000 people attended the event & I met hundreds of relatives from my uncle, aunt, grandmother, grandfather, step-grandfather, mother, father etc side. Below are some snapshots of my experience .

I attended the mass for my grandmother

I watched several families build temporary huts on my grandmother's property to stay in during the 4 day lumbe.

Some relatives viewed me as that crazy American-Ugandan lady in pants since I was the only female who were pants during the week. The village is still very conservative & women wear dresses & skirts.

I received many requests from old & young men to have an "American" penpal & exchange e-mails

I recalled memories of when my grandmother called me Bet; her friend was called Betty or Bet for short

I sat by the fire as women cooked rice, chicken & green bananas (matoke, the traditional Bagandan food) all wrapped in banana leaves

I wore a modernized version of a busuti (traditional female Bagandan dress)

I took an outside bath from a bucket next to a cow who grunted when I came too close to his territory

I watched a special belt made of backcloth being tied around the 3 children of my grandmother, which my mother & aunts wore for 3 days

I witnessed the caning of 2 boys, whose mother reported them to the clan for misbehavior & they collectively decided the boys' punishment. Since their father's death, the boys had badly misbehaved. Later on, the boys were bestowed with gifts & traditional values to become real men

I woke up at 3am to see my aunt & mother go for a traditional ceremony to chase away death spirits from the house

I cried when I saw my grandmother's grave & placed a flower on her gravestone

I met hundreds of new relatives, each with 25-60 people in their family unit & formally greeted them by kneeling in a greeting that lasts 2-5min

I walked on my grandmother's grave, a ceremony all grandchildren do to ensure her spirit is happy

I inherited a new grandmother, picked through my grandmother's will & approved by the fmailies; she had to be selected from my grandmother's side

I met several daddys and mothers, alternatively called aunts & uncles

I knelt & ate food from my new grandmother, a tradition she must do to welcome her new family members

I understand my heritage & characteristics by meeting all my relatives ie: why my natural hair color is lightly tinted red, why I love animals so much & don't drink (characteristics from my grandmother), why I respect elders, why I have a youthful looking face, why my eyes sometimes look bluish.

Uganda #13: Pepsi Uganda

For the lumbe, my mother decides to buy Pepsi products vs. the much more prevalent Coke products. She's supporting me & my former job. I go with her to see the facility & compare it to the Pepsi facilities where I worked at in Atlanta.

I meet the unit manager Deo, who privately owns the Pepsi facility, & am amazed at how similar & dissimilar the issues & the way he runs his business compare to Pepsi Atlanta. I see a good opportunity for Pepsi to enter this market. Coke dominates the market because of their persistnet marketing. Billboards, signs, posts are everywhere. There are some Pepsi signs based onteh slogan "Dare for More" but not every many.

Pepsi is sold in 300ml or 10oz glass bottles for 500-1000shillings or $0.30 - $0.59USD, which have to be drunk onsite & returned to the person that they were bought from to be recyclyed & used again. Sometimes I forget & walk out of a restaurant with the bottle still sipping the drink & find someone tapping my shoulder telling me to give them back his or her bottle.

Uganda #12: R-E-S-P-E-C-T

When people think of Africa, they think safaris, wild animals, jungles: uncivilized land. Ironically, this is only a pice of Africa. When one studies the language, culture, people and traditions, one discovers a very intricate & civilized system based on respect for elders, formal greetings and introductions.
Since my 2 days here in the village, I've discovered that R-E-S-P-E-C-T is big here. The pyramid goes as so: children respect those older than them, women respect men and everyone respects God. Respect is shown by kneeling before the other person & greeting them formally for about 2-5 min, as well as respecting & not questioning their ideas. The greeting goes soemthing like,

Hello J. Hello M. How are you? Fine. How are you? Fine. How'd you sleep? Fine. You? Fine? Thank you for working so hard. Yes, working is hard but it's what I do. Thank you for studying hard in school. Yes, I am working on my Master's degree. How's your family? Good. Yours? Good. Okay. Okay. Uh huh. Uh huh.

This greeting must repeated every time you see that person, even if you just saw them (as in leaving the room & returning), as was the case as my mother & I walked past a friend on the way back out of our room. During this time, I got a bit frustrated because so many people came for the lumbe & sometimes, going through that formal greeting process with each person when I had to walk past 10 relatives on each side bothered me. I didn't understand why I would greet someone again for the second time after seeing them 2 min ago. I would sometimes be the "uncultured American-Ugandan" lady who would run past the group with no greetings just to get to back to my room & pick up the camera my aunt had requested.
Also, there is a hierarchy amongst cousins, aunts, uncles, grandmother's side, father's side etc. We've been trying to decide how to serve food to the guests at the lumbe. For hours, different sides of the family argued. My step grandfather (husband of my late grandmother) finally said we do this & we all had to respect his decision. The system can be challenging sometimes if the person at the top is unreasonable or stubborn (like my grandfather can be) but it's the Baganda way. Hands down. No questions.

Uganda #11: Arriving at my Grandparents' Home

Before we arrive at my grandparents' home, my mother gives in & buys a wrap skirt on the way there, which she wears over her jeans. I wear my jeans, knowing I won't be scorned as much for being the lady in pants.



When we arrive our relatives, family from from my grandmaother's side are already there. Some family groups are already building huts on the property, a tradition. Imagine 30 family groups of 25- 60 arriving at your house & putting up tents on your property to stay during your grandmother's funerla rites. All in all, we expect 800-1000 people to come & my step-grandfather has had 3 more latrine pits built to accommodate the incoming people. My step-grandfather already had a hut built for us out of clay, straw & tin. It's a very small room & with all our stuff, the room seems very small, room to stretch my arms & touch the walls at each end & that's it/ We'll be sharing it with my aunt & cousin Pius & my mother.

My nickname at UVA was Kodak because I'm trigger-happy. I love beautiful photos & am always trying to capture the essence of a moment. In the village, I take pics of everyone & everything. I am fascinated by the traditions & ambience. I also want my American friends to appreciate the wonders I'm experiencing. Some people joke & ask for money, since they believe their picture may appear somewhere in an American newspaper or television. Others are fascinated by my fascination to capture their everyday "normal" lives. I'm just tkaing it all in & loving that I'm meeting all my relatives from my mother, father, aunt, uncle, step-grandfather, grandfather & grandmother's side & trying to keep in straight in my head who's from what side.

Uganda #10: Travelling to the Village for the Lumbe Ceremony

My mother says the village where my grandfather lives will be like going camping: no running water or electricity, which means candles & torches at night & having someone fetch water from the river tyo be boiled & used. I also means an opportunity to develop my imagination & creative skills to pass the time. Even though we'll be gone for 4 days, our suitcase bulge with what seems like 2wks worth of stuff, sunscreen, anti-bacterial wipes juice, toilet paper, OFF bug spray, slippers, Nikes, dressy shoes, 1st aid kit & creams, sunglasses, hat, toiletries.... you never know. My aunt & Pius take a small tote & we're off on the 2 hr trip to the village. We climb into a small open truck, 3 people in the front & 4 in the back. We picked up a caterer, who will help prepare food for the lumbe.
I decide to wear jeans & seeing me, my mother decides to do the same. The village culutre is very conservative; women only wear dresses. I want to be comfortable & can't see myself lifting things & walking around in a dress. My aunt is unhappy my mother is going against stradition & wearing pants, on top of that jeans!!! She instead wears the tradtional Baganda dress (a busuti). A dress with includes 3 layers of material, butons tied to one side & a wrap belt. THINK a kimono with puffed sleeves. I'm excused from wearing a dress becaue I'm young & will be perceived the same way the hip hop generation with their low rise jeans are viewed by the baby boomer generation. I know in the village my mother will be scorned by the elders but she wants to be comfy.
The truck is packed wiuth food to feed 1000 people, pots & pans as bg as a small child. We drive along the sometimes rocky, pot-hole filled roads as it becomes increasingly dusty with red soil (enfufu). Auntie covers her head with the head wrap. We keep some windows half open to air condition the car but also keep out the enfufu.
When we stop to buy string to tie the bags down, some vendors apporach the car with plantains and kabobs. A street kid runs to the car & asks to wash it. The driver politely declines. Despite the lack of privacy & pushiness, people treat each other with respect. Even the poor hustling or beggin for food are replied with, "No, thank you Mister. I don't have anything." In America, people walk past the poor like they are lepers or invisible creatures.
Uganda is very hilly & mountainous with gorgeous views of the green landscape: banana trees, corn or maize fields & coffee trees everywhere. In the distant u can see nice homes way up with the hills where the wealthy live. There is s huge divide between the rich & poor.

Uganda #9: Preparing for the Lumbe (LOOM-BAY)

Yesterday, when we went into town, I leaned out the window of the taxi (a van which fits 16 people squeezed in) & thought of my grandmother & it hit me like a ton of bricks that I did not get to see her before she died. It hurts & when I think of the lumbe, to me it'll be like going to the funeral, which took place last year but I couldn't go because of timing & money, $2000 air ticket to get here. It would have been worth the expense.
Tomorrow until Monday, we will be gone for my grandmother's lumbe, a burial rites ceremony which I've been told includes the gathering of several hundred people including extended family & people in the village who heard thru a friend of a friend of a neighbor. My mother syasy I will meet everyone in my entire family, aunts, uncles, cousins, a family reunion. The ceremony will also include mass, a reading of my grandmother's wills, distribution of her property to children & grandchildren (10 total including me), food & the selection of an adopted grandmother, who has t be approved my her children & relatives & has probably been selected by my grandmother. It will be my first time t experience a lumbe (pronounced LOOM-BAY) but some the traditions already don't make sense to me. They seem be non-pragmatic. Example: my father's family will be bringing food for the lumbe but in return, they ask that we all cook them a special meal for the lumbe...?

Uganda #8: Learning the People & Culture

People seem to love life no matter how hard it seems. By US standards, some people live in dire circumstances, poverty, but you'd never know it if you talked to them. People are just happy to be alive. My aunt, who's a nurse, says the suicide rate is virtually non-existant & crazy serial killings or murders don't exist; there is just petty crime. It makes me wonder if commercialization & industrilization mean positive progress. In the US, people kill themselves over being overweight, losing $$$ in the stock exchange etc. Those people who are depressed need to come to Uganda for 2 weeks & they'll quickly appreciate whatever or whomever they have.
The women here are beautiful with facial features unlike those in America & deep soulful eyes. Ther skin is mooth & flawless. No makeup required. Wigs are in fashion, especially pinkish red nes. Most women have closely shaven hair, so wigs give them an opportunity to have long hair without the maintenance. I prefer natural beauty.
The men have small waists, nice skin & most are short. They remind me of my father wth their distinct noses & facial features. Macho-ism is big here in a subtle, non-showy way but you can feel that women are meant to be subservient to men & not question their authority. Many are suprised or annoyed when my mother & I question ideas.

Cell phones are everywhere, which is a shck because most people can barely afford food & clothing or even house telephones. Cell phones are everywhere maintained through calling SIM cards not 500min/month plans, even my grandfather in the village wants one, but who will he call? It shows that quick communication & maintaining relationships in any culture can be more important than basic necessities.

Uganda #7: Going to the city Kampala

We awake to rain & no more rooster waking us at 5:30am. Auntie killed the rooster for dinner last night in honor of my coming. It was delicious & I mentally separated my memories of Mr. Rooster from a good dinnner. It's raining hard but my mother has errands t rn in town & I have to convert my money to shillings.
The city Kampala is crazy & chaotic. THINK: New York x20 with only black people, everyone hustling. People, cars, taxis, trucks, boda bodas (motorcycles), some cattle everywhere. Taxi's are 12 passenger vans but the drivers pack them with 16-19 people in a van & drive very fast barely sideswiping people & other taxis in close knit quarters. I quickly ascertain that deoderant is a luxury but no one seems to notice except me. I'm getting used to it. It's not that hot not like ATL with that moist humidity. The wind blows & it feels nice.
My mother militantly moves through the hoards of people like a woman on a desperate mission sometimes gripping my hand. I know that from the outside, I stand out as a confused tourist wth my Nike shoes & red stiped polo shirt. When we cross the roads, I look at the wrong side (right) for oncoming cars. People drive on the left side of the road (like the British) & it affects how you cross the road.

You've got to be agressive to make it in this city. Pushiness & privacy are non-existant. I love my privacy, so I'm a little annoyed with the shoving & general lack of respect when people push in front of me in a line. Hello, I'm waiting too!
Gotta love KAMPALA!

Uganda #6: Visiting Cousins & the Birth

We hired a driver to go see my other cousins Edgar & Mary at their seminary schols. Classes run year round with month breaks every 3 months. They have visiting days 1x/month where parents & friends meet up. Every child wears uniforms & Maria the only girl of the 4 kids has her he hair shaved off, a requirement at school.
Afterwards, we go see the Nderere Troup dance traditional dances. It's an amazing show & we're told they are coming to Chicago in Sept so I will be there with a Kellogg friends (I'm sure I can get a group of 10 to go). I volunteer to go onstage with 4 other people & we compete in a series of games inclding peeling a green banana, running & drinking with a clay pot on our heads. I come in 2nd but everyone says I should I have come in 1st, but I got confused & lost time. I win an "African violin" made of animal skin. I played the violin when I was younger, so it's a fitting instrument for me to win.

When we return, the pig is giving birth. By the time I run there with my camera, she's had 10 babies, 1 died in birth, the other is weak & half the size of the others. It lies helpless on the side trying to stand but it's so small. One is stuck underneath the mother. I scream, "you can do it. Climb over." It manages to climb halfway but falls. Uncle gets a stick & pushes it over & the 8 babies fight to suckle on their mother. My favorite baby pig is an all black one named Sabuni (soap in Luganda). I like the sound of her name.

Uganda #5: Adjusting

Last night after a tasty beef dinner with rice, beef, matoke (green bananas) smoked in banana leaves, my mother, her sister (Auntie Annet) & I sat in the lving room & stared at each other for several minutes. The silence seemed pleasant for them, more so than for me. I'm not used to silence & was anxious to fill up the dead space with conversation. My mother brought up the topic of me as a baby. My aunt helped my mother after she had me. Everday she washed 12 of my nappies (cloth diapers). 12-a-day!!!! That's love & hence, I understand that it takes a village to raise a child. I debate internally whether I will use cloth or disposable diapers for my children... still too early to decide. My aunt brings out my baby clothes. She's saved them! My mother shows me a pillowcase; she ripped out the middle out & then re-sewed it back together in an intricate lace pattern. Wow, when I see it, I know I was & am still loved a lot! Afterwards, I charge my IPOD using a 220v to 110V converter & listen to more of Jane Fonda's story.

At 5:30am this moring, the rooster starts crowing loudly but then it starts raining hard. I quickly wake up because for a moment it sounds like Niagara Falls has been relocated to our bedroom as the rain pelts hard against the tin roof. When it stops, the rooster crows again. My mother & I fall asleep & wake up at 9am.
For breakfast. we had casava & bread wrapped in banana leaves & hot tea. I still can't get over the fact that the butter made by Unilever Uganda doesn't need refrigeration. Auntie does not have fridge but somehow I don't miss it like I do other things like the sound of the toilet flushing; there are latrine pits or the steady flow of shower water; we heat water & use it from buckets. Even so, I am loving being here. I walked outside onto the red soil & we walked amidst all the greenery to the Internet cafe, taking a taxi on the way.

By the way $1 USD = 1700 shillings (Sh). My aunt got her hair braided in cornrows for 4000Sh or $2.50! Yup, you read correctly! I wish I hadn't eaten all those restaurant dinners before I came here. A US dollar here goes a long way, as does some quarters. It take 600Sh to take a taxi bus to the Internet cafe & back. An equivalent of $$USD???

2 of Auntie's kids, my cousins Andrew, 16 & Pius, arrived today from boarding school. They laugh at my Luganda, which is Americanized & sometimes comes out sounding funny, even to me. My tongue & mouth struggle to intone the Luganda linguistics. I'm getting there. My goal is to properly speak the language at the end of my trip here. We give them CD players & CDs & shoes, which they genunely jump p in joy & thank us. It make this journey so worth it to see them smile.

Uganda #4: Arriving in Uganda

Finally, I have arrived. It's 11:07am, Ugandan time which is 8hrs ahead. I arrived last night at 9pm. I'm lucky my body & mind interpreted the whle 3-day journey as if I had flown to California & back. Last night I was picked up from the aiport with no troubles going through Immigration. My whole trip was nothing like others had described. It was wonderful & I am blessed

Right now, I am in an Internet Cafe. It's a bit difficult typing, some of the keys work sometimes & have to press hard.

I love this place & the people. This morning as I had breakfast, all the memories of from my past came back & I felt at home. Words can't describe what's here. I can only say it's home. They drive on the other side of the rode, which scared me last night because I thought the driver was in the wrong lane. Even crossing the road is a challenege b/c you expect the cars to come down one way but they come down the other way... I'll have to get used to that. We took a taxi here piled high with people & going at what seemed like 80mph on the dusty, bumpy road. My mother told me to close my eyes & just go. She says it would be scarier at the marketplace.

I love seeing my mother so in her element. She's very excited, high energy, slightly aggressive in getting what she wants (but you need to be that way here, otherwise they will take advantage of us, who look so obviously American). We are staying with my aunt. Her 4 kids (Andrew, Edgar, Mary & Pius) are in boarding school but my mother says we will see them Saturday. I can't wait to give them their gifts I gave my aunt her dress nurse's uniforms today. She was so happy & had tears in her eyes. I'm so humbled here. People don't have much & giving a kid a t-shirt means so much to them. I am embarrassed that I have so much at home, clothes in so many colors & styles at home; some kids only have 2 outfits for thier entire childhood. I wish I could have brought more so that I could be able to make more people happy. Regardless, it's beautful, I saw the stars last night. The sky is amazing & the culture is amazing. I LOVE my home & the people!

Uganda #3: Waiting at Dubai International Airport

I'm here at Dubai International Aiport, halfway through my journey. We arrived this morning & I just had lunch, a complimentary lunch from United Emirates Airlines which inlcuded spicy lamb, bean adn lentils Arabic foods. I love this airlines, great service, roomy seats & a free lunch while you wait in transit..... so much better than Delta.

I have paid $5 for 1 hr of Internet service. The keys on the keyboard have all these Arabic lettters on them, so it's taking me 1 sec longer to figure out thr typing. There are many shops here. It's almost like a mall & pepple are going crazy buying stuff because it is duty-free. The is a shop downstairs selling gold jewelry for like $30 for a 22K bracelet. It's nice. I already have a bookbag & carry bag & don't need any more stuff. I'll buy on my return flight. Other than that, when I see the different people here, mostly Middle Eastern, I remind myself to be aware of the cultures. Like this guy forced his way in front of me during lunch line then acted normal. Normally, in America, I would have called him out, especially since he was getting in the way of me & my food... but decided not to.

Anyway, I have 6 hrs here, which I'll probably spend on the Internet, sleeping in a couch & lounging here in the VIP lounge. Don't ask me how I found this place & got in. I just wanted to get away from the crowds & found this spot. I wish I could take a pic so you could see but I don't want to look tooo touristy & raise any more suspicions than I already have with my reddish dyed hair, American clothing & foreign accent. Well.... plane leaves at 2:45pm with stops in Kenya before I make it to Uganda!!!!!!

Uganda #2: Still in London

It's been over 5 hrs here in the Delta Crown Club lounge. I've seen many people come & go. I have eaten sandwiches, drunk all kinds of soda & snacks, refrained from the plentiful alcohol available in wine, beer, vodka & mixed drinks. It's so nice & peaceful, so worth my $50 spent here. I have also slept alot & listened to Jane Fonda's "My Life so Far" on my IPOD; gotta love Itunes & IPODS, no need to bring books, just a small device.

The Delta lounge attendants are so friendly & polite with their thick British accents. I befriend one of them who tells me to sleep in the couch since I'll be here for hours. I had been nervous that it may offend some of the more professional Crown Club members (everyone is so proper) but heck, I paid the $$ & I'm going to be comfortable here. Some business men are shocked when they peek around the corner & see my lain body on the beautiful butter leather coach. I guess they think, "how the heck did she become a member?" London time is 5hrs ahead so my body feels a little wack, but it's peaceful here & between naps the time flies. The Delta attendant announces at 8:30pm that they will soon be boarding United Emirates airlines to Dubai. YEAH!

Uganda #2: Arriving in London

We arrive in London. I am refreshed & feeling great. My mind still hasn't digested the idea that I am traveling a long way or a long time. It feels like I just flew to Chicago.

I find a trendy clothing store called Next. Trends are the same here. I see a bag for 24 lb; multiple that x2 = $48 American dollars. Yikes! I'm bored. I have 9hrs here at London Gatwick airport, so I head for the Delta Crown Club Room to buy a day pass for $50. The service is amazing, the bathrooms clean & they're serving salmon, fish, prawn, chichek & vegetable sandwiches. I am the only minority here & person dressed in JLo velour pants (they're comfy) so I stick out like a sore thumb. Most people are Caucasian or Asian business people with nice suits. People gather around the TV to watch the Olympic Announcement. Most English people scream when they announce London as the 2012 host. I had a slight preference for London over Paris because of the people. I love & speak French but I know French people can sometimes be a little stand-offish.

Uganda #1: Leaving Atlanta for London

It's 9:30pm. Most people have boarded the Delta plane. When I entered & saw 1st class, I was amazed & thought my coach seats would be great. Nope. It's like Greyhound airbourne. Everyone is cramped & packed into these small cotton patterned seats. You'd think since we were going 8 hrs overseas it'd be rommier but I've had better flights flying within the States for 1hr. I'm glad I have short legs. The plane is packed which didn't seem like it 2hrs ago but I guess most people were late. My seat partner looks like a rockstar from Irelans with long brown wavy hair & skull rings. I'm not feeling very friendly, so I'll keep to myself & just sleep for the next 8 hrs. By the way, no mini-screens in the seats. One big screen & I'm all the way in the back. It's late; they're showing Millionaire Baby but I sleep anyways.

Preparing to Go to Uganda

I have packed all that I can... had a 11am massage to prepare for my 3 day journey to Uganda. I can't wait. I have no idea what to expect from the journey, travel & arrival. I just can't wait to be around my people again. I feel like it will be like finding myself again.
I have packed a small bookbag with clothes to last me through ym travel & some snacks, which seems to be expanding with the min. I should leave soon so I don't keep seeing stuff I MAY need.

Mystery Trip Guesses

I think it's the Tanzanian Serengeti. We've had 2 clues, one was that someone had already guessed the clue & I saw the guesses when I visited Kellogg in April. Someone had guessed Tanzania & I laughed it off. The second clue is the picture, which looks a lot like Tanzania...

KAOS Trip Hint #2

Where in the world could it be? I'm guessing somewhere in Africa, maybe New Zealand or Australia. Hmmmmmm.... Wonder if I can google the image. Here's the e-mail I got for it.

MT’ers, we hope your summers are going well, and that you’re taking the time to relax and enjoy yourself. Not too much longer to go now, so we wanted to give you all the next hint…there will me more, of this you can be sure! Remember, no talking to each other until the trip!
***************************************************************************************************** Welcome class of 0-seven*,
To your seven days of heaven.
Will it be cold? Will it be hot?
You'll have a blast, it matters not.
(*not forgetting our 1Y's and JV's, just didn't rhyme, sorry)

Now where are we going?
Of this, we know you're dying,
But our lips are sealed,
So quit trying!

What should we pack?
What shots should we get?
Don't worry right now,
We'd only lie, that's a safe bet.

What we will promise,
Is fun every day,
And a great group of friends,
You'll make along the way.

Now as a little hint,
A Photo we show,
If you can guess from here,
You damn well deserve to go!

But stop trying to guess,
Relax and close your eyes,
A lot of the fun,
Is in the surprise.

There'll be drinking and dancing,
All at full throttle,
Games of 'I Never',
And maybe spin the bottle.

But until we leave,
Keep your lips sealed,
Because on the trip,
All your secrets will be revealed.

Stay tuned for more updates,
And please send your check,
He's floated the money,
So help save Chirag's neck!

Where could it possibly be...

Just think, only a few more weeks and we’re off to…er…where was it again…

Michael, Nick, Chirag, Noreen & April.

Last Day of Work

Today is my last day at work... it's bittersweet because my team is great but it's time to move on & prepare for what's next.